Edinburgh's new airport tram service will take longer, and cost more, than the
existing bus service when it is launched next May.

A return ticket to the terminal on the troubled £776 million tram line will be priced at £7.50 and the journey will take 33 minutes, while the Airlink bus service costs £6 and takes 30 minutes.

The disparity emerged as it was confirmed that tram fares in the city would cost the same as a bus journey at £1.50, with both services being run by the new Transport for Edinburgh group, formed by Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams.

A premium will be added, however, for the airport journey, prompting warnings that members of the public may choose not to use the trams.

Cameron Buchanan, the Scottish Conservative MSP, said: “Given the tram will be more expensive and take longer than an already excellent airport bus service, I cannot see many people using it.

“That is before the question of luggage storage has even been addressed. Once the novelty has worn off, I can see people going back to using the bus, and of course over time that will lead to a deterioration in the tram service.”

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Marco Biagi, the SNP MSP, said the tram system was an “overpriced downgrade” from the reliable airport bus service and reinforced why the project should never have got off the ground.

He added: “The average airport visitor wants to get into the city as quickly as possible and they’re not going to choose the tram if it’s slower. How will the trams break even financially if they don’t even have the airport market?

“People used to think the tram line was just an overpriced upgrade for the airport bus. Now we all know it’s just an overpriced downgrade.”

Cllr Lesley Hinds, the city’s transport convenor, defended the higher tram fare, saying it would provide a “fast, comfortable, convenient and reliable transport option at a very good price”.

She added: “With Lothian Buses, we’ve ensured that the bus and tram ticketing systems are fully integrated for ease of use and to keep costs low.

“Ridacards and day tickets will be usable across bus and tram while a single ticket will be the same price across both.

“Like most cities, there’s an airport supplement and this is part of the business model to ensure the service is cost effective in operation.”

Cllr Joanna Mowat, council transport spokesman for the Conservatives, said she was “reasonably comfortable” with the higher airport fare as it was not an “entirely comparable service”.

Test runs are to be carried out from the airport to the city centre next month, with all disruption caused by tram works over the past six years due to end by the middle of October.

Josh Miller, chairman of the George Street Association, said momentum was building for the trams, adding: “There is some excitement remembering what it’s like to get our city back.”